Fourteen years ago when Anne and I drove north of Saskatoon on Highway #12 to check out this "50 acres of river front land for sale" we decided that day we had to buy it.

We could not resist the scenic view of the gentle slopes on each side of the North Saskatchewan River with the very old and large cottonwood poplar trees.

In 2001 we decided to break up four acres of open natural grass by our home. It only took two meetings with Rick Sawatzky, of the Domestic Fruit Development Program, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, to make our decision to support the University by joining their co-operator group and start a small apple orchard of 100 trees made up of four different varieties of their apples under research and testing.

Today we have three separate orchard areas totalling 14.5 acres with approximately 2500 dwarf/semi-dwarf apple trees. In 2011 we will have 800 trees producing apples and our productive tree numbers will increase by approximately 600 trees per year.

It is a young orchard growing older every year, so are our fourteen grandchildren. I guess there is an exception to the last statement and I should say as long as the weather cooperates! Late in the fall of 2007 we received seven inches of rain in late September followed by -20 degrees Celsius. Our oldest trees were planted near the river bottom and since they were very wet, they did not have a chance to go dormant. They became the winter damage of 2007/2008. That one winter set us back two years. We believe that the summer of 2011 will be the year where are older trees will fully recover.

In addition to investing in our orchard for the past nine years, in 2007 we decided to protect those small apple trees from deer damage by building a game fence around the three orchards. This was the same year we constructed the red roof building that you see as you drive through the valley on Highway #12 where the Petrofka Bridge allows you to cross the North Saskatchewan River.

This facility was constructed to accommodate the storage of many tons of apples to be sold or processed into value-added products while providing enough room for a small concession to accommodate visitors and better serve our customers.

In the fall of 2008, with the assistance of the Saskatchewan Food Industry Development Centre Inc (The Food Centre) Petrofka Bridge Orchard developed the procedures and made its first batch of "Soft" Apple Cider. Thanks to you, our customers, this golden juice is much in demand across the province.

In 2009/2010 with the assistance of Saskatchewan Agriculture Program called "SAVI" we developed two new products - our Dehydrated Apple Slices and our Apple Cider Vinegar. Not to mention Anne's delicious homemade apple pies.

We offer vegetables such as tomatoes, long English cucumbers, garlic, potatoes and different varieties of fruit such as sour cherries, Saskatoon berries, raspberries, strawberries, a large variety of jams, jellies, honey and miscellaneous items. We are very busy with our apple orchard. Many of the above mentioned products come from people within the Blaine Lake/Waldheim district that have adopted good agriculture practices.